BASEBALL

BASEBALL; A Sizzling Hot Stove Rouses the A.L. East

By JACK CURRY

Published: December 16, 2003

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 15—
Theo Epstein, the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, delayed an interview to use an automated teller machine in the lobby of the Marriott hotel here. Epstein needed a little money, which is the same thing the Texas Rangers have been telling the Red Sox they need to help facilitate trading Alex Rodriguez for Manny Ramirez. Actually, the Rangers want about $25 million, much more than Epstein could have pulled from the machine.

If the two teams are able to complete the monstrous trade, the already dominant American League East, which seems to be gaining more talent and more cachet by the minute, will also have the best player in baseball. Rodriguez would glide into the fierce Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, which has always been intense and is now in one of its most passionate periods because both clubs are closely matched and both clubs loathe the other.

Although the mighty Yankees and the mighty Red Sox remain the class of the division, the improved Toronto Blue Jays and the ready-to-spend Baltimore Orioles should swipe some attention and victories from their higher-priced neighbors next season and make the A.L. East more compelling. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have some solid, young players, but the tough competition could help turn another season into another forgettable experience for them.

''Right now, on paper, which doesn't really mean anything, the A.L. East is probably the most powerful division,'' Epstein said. ''People are calling it the A.L. Beast and saying it's back.''

The beast started crawling back last season as the Yankees led the league with 101 victories, the Red Sox snatched a wild-card berth with 95 victories and the resurgent Blue Jays won 86 games, which tied them for sixth best in the A.L. The Yankees and the Red Sox enhanced the division's reputation with a frenetic and entertaining league championship series.

Several baseball executives said that the top three A.L. East teams are more superior now than they were at the end of the season and that the Orioles, who signed the free-agent shortstop Miguel Tejada to a six-year, $72 million contract on Sunday, and are trying to sign outfielder Vladimir Guerrero and catchers Ivan Rodriguez or Javy Lopez, could become more formidable.

Jim Beattie, Baltimore's vice president for baseball operations, said the A.L. East ''could be the best division in pro sports,'' which helps explain why the owner Peter Angelos is chasing marquee free agents with an open checkbook and could end up behaving like a clone of George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner.

''You can't play dumb to what's going on around us,'' said Baltimore Manager Lee Mazzilli, referring to how the Yankees and the Red Sox try to trump each other with moves and money. ''But we have to concentrate on what we need to do to build a winning ball club.''

For the Red Sox, their plan was to add two elite pitchers and they succeeded by acquiring Curt Schilling from the Arizona Diamondbacks and signing the free-agent closer Keith Foulke to a three-year deal. Schilling, who has won 20 games twice in the last three seasons, will follow Pedro Martínez in a rotation that also includes Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield. Foulke saved 43 games for the Oakland Athletics last season and should bolster a bullpen that blew 21 save chances in 2003.

But as critical as Schilling and Foulke will be, the enticing proposal that has hovered over the Red Sox for weeks involves securing Rodriguez. A Texas official said that the Rangers would not make the trade unless Boston absorbs about a quarter of the $97.5 million left on Ramirez's contract and includes a pitcher in the package, maybe Byung Hyun Kim. The owners continued negotiating on Monday and a baseball official from one of the teams said he thought that the complex trade would eventually happen.

When Epstein was told that the Yankees would probably react and make a splashy move if the Red Sox obtained Rodriguez, he said, ''God bless them.''

Steinbrenner has used his hands-on approach more than ever in revamping the Yankees this off-season. They have signed the free-agent outfielders Gary Sheffield and Kenny Lofton, the free-agent relievers Tom Gordon and Paul Quantrill, and obtained starters Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown.

Although the loss of Andy Pettitte stung the Yankees, San Diego General Manager Kevin Towers said that he would favor Mike Mussina, Brown and Vazquez over Boston's Martínez, Schilling and Lowe in a short series. Blue Jays Manager Carlos Tosca gave the Yankees the edge over Boston because of closer Mariano Rivera.

''I'm really looking forward to next year,'' Epstein said. ''I don't think anyone can count on the wild card coming out of the A.L. East. We'll probably beat each other up and it'll come out of one of the other two divisions. That's why every division game is going to be twice as important.''

Despite an inspired 2003 season, ownership in Toronto ordered General Manager J. P. Ricciardi to trim the payroll from $53 million to $50 million. Ricciardi has nevertheless made some savvy, under-the-radar moves by signing the free-agent pitchers Miguel Batista and Pat Hentgen, and obtaining Ted Lilly from Oakland. Suddenly, the Blue Jays have a sturdier rotation behind the Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay.

The Jays have compared themselves to the Florida Marlins and the Anaheim Angels, the last two World Series champions, because both were unlikely winners with modest payrolls. Like the Marlins, who received major contributions from the rookies Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, and the Angels, who received the same from the rookies Francisco Rodriguez and John Lackey, Ricciardi thinks the Jays need two youngsters to provide an unexpected jolt. Maybe then the Jays can tame the beast that is the A.L. East.

''I wouldn't say that we're intimidated by anyone in our division,'' Ricciardi said. ''We know what we're going up against. I think we look at it as a challenge. They don't intimidate us.''

Photo: The Orioles signed shortstop Miguel Tejada on Sunday. (Photo by Getty Images)